Patricia B. Licuanan, Educator

In talking about her varied work and advocacies, Patricia Licuanan has one point she wishes to emphasize. "I am primarily an educator."

Indeed, it's in Patricia's blood to teach and lead as she comes from a long line of educators, civil servants, and women leaders including grandmother Paz Marquez Benitez, a renowned short story writer who influenced a generation of Filipino writers in English, and mother Virginia Benitez, a newspaper columnist and historical writer. She continues to expand this lineage of excellence as she creates a significant name for herself in the academic and women's issues arena.

Her journey towards achieving great things started early. She graduated valedictorian in elementary, salutatorian in high school and summa cum laude in college. She was selected as Most Outstanding Student of the Philippines in 1962, and Most Outstanding Psychologist by the Psychological Association of the Philippines in 1988. She holds an M.A. in Psychology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the Pennsylvania State University.

Her academic career began when, as a student, she would conduct voluntary religion classes in various public schools. Then, as a young idealistic college graduate, she volunteered to teach in a rural high school in Davao, a province in the southern part of the Philippines. Even during her graduate studies in America, she continued to teach, handling classes in General Psychology and Experimental Psychology at Cornell University. Upon coming back to the Philippines, she spent the next 25 years at the Ateneo de Manila University where she served in various capacities - from being a faculty then head of the school's Psychology Department to being director of Human Resources Center now Ateneo Center for Organizational Research and Development, and finally as Academic Vice President. In 1997 she became the sixth president of Miriam (formerly Maryknoll) College. Under her leadership, this institution for women continues to uphold its place as a modern and dynamic academic institution that forms young women leaders in service.

Her involvement in women's issues began in 1975 when she worked with UNICEF to help the organization define its first regional women's program. Since then she has served as Chair of the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women when it was the preparatory commission for the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995. At the Conference she chaired the Main Committee, which negotiated the Beijing Platform for Action. Eyewitnesses marveled at the way she brokered agreements between political blocks, harnessed discussion with rowdy NGOs, and resolved tensions between feminists and fundamentalists. Currently, she heads regional women's networks such as the Asia-Pacific Women Watch and South East Asia Women's Watch, which are involved in advocacy for and monitoring of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Last year she chaired the Asia Pacific NGO Forum on Beijing +10. She also served as UNIFEM adviser to the Ministry of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan.

Dedication, passion, and vision-all these continue to drive Patricia to educate the people that she meets. However, among her many achievements, her life with husband Tim Peterson (deceased) and children Carlo and Andrea stands out as a major source of happiness and fulfillment. Her devotion and commitment to her family is a badge she wears with obvious pleasure and pride.

Miriam College

Throughout its more than 79 years of existence, Miriam College (formerly Maryknoll College) has established a history of commitment to quality education. Through the years it has continued to be a premier Filipino Catholic learning institution with a strong liberal arts program infused with the Christian values of truth, justice, peace, and integrity of creation. Its curriculum is further enhanced by modern technology and enriched by national and international linkages.

Miriam College is a strong advocate in the following areas: gender and trade, violence against women, trafficking of women, women and peace, women and the environment, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and engendering the Millennium Development Goals.

Producing empowered women graduates remains the primary role of Miriam College. Its focus on excellent education develops both the learning and caring competencies of young women as it prepares them to be leaders in their chosen professional fields, whether it be in accountancy, business administration, entrepreneurship, child development and education, international studies, communication arts, psychology, environmental planning and management, or computer technology. Special focus has been given to social involvement through the Institutional Network for Social Action to create responsible and responsive future citizens.

To meet the challenges of the times, Miriam College has also set up three major centers for curriculum development, research, and community outreach - the Environmental Studies Institute, Center for Peace Education, and Women and Gender Institute. These special advocacy centers serve as principal channels to manifest the alignment of Miriam College core values with national development.